The Infinity of Haruhi Suzumiya
by Hejin57
Summary: All seemed well for Kyon. He thought his problems with Haruhi were over. Unfortunately, a girl like her is never satisfied with normality, and when the timeline itself becomes at risk, Kyon becomes an unlikely savior in her latest case of melancholy...
1. Chapter 1

**I have returned!**

**Well, I never really went away in the first place, but that's besides the point. Hello, hello, loyal readers! Today marks the day where I bring you the fifth installment to The Continuance of Haruhi Suzumiya...The Infinity of Haruhi Suzumiya. With this new story, I'll be doing some things I have never tried before. First off, I will tell you all now that I am giving Asahina-san some long-needed spotlight time. She's kind of been put under the rug for awhile, so this story will be her time to shine, I would say. Also, I'll be working with a much more complicated storyline this time around, which I'd HATE to ruin for you. Even more so, I've decided that two OC's will appear sometime in the later chapters of this story. I refuse to give you any hints of what kind of characters they will be, beyond saying that they are NOT some version of Haruhi's parents. It's something you'll have to wait and read to find out.**

**And, I will make sure not to neglect the romantic aspect of my stories in this one. You'll have to have faith in me for this story, because I am edging out of my comfort zone with it. One last thing to note would be that this story is the SECOND TO LAST one in the entire series. I certainly hope you enjoy this new story of mine. Jonbob008 has taken the gracious liberty of beta-reading for me again, so I thank him a million times as usual. Now...onto the disclaimer!**

**Disclaimer: _H-Hejin57-san doesn't own Suzumiya-san or anyone else mentioned in this story...I think. Well, two of the characters are his...and he worked really hard on making them! Am I saying this right? P-Please...enjoy the story!_**

_Hejin57 Presents..._**  
**

_**The Infinity of Haruhi Suzumiya**_

* * *

It was as if the universe itself ebbed into a perpetual silence.

Everything felt quiet. Too quiet.

Let's forget that my visibility right now is pretty bad. Just something like that was enough to worsen the situation. And let's not mention that the "weapon" in my hands was not really much of a weapon at all. The said "weapon" was just a rusty crowbar that I had happened to find out of luck. Even still, it certainly wouldn't be much of a help at all right now.

"This is scary...."

Asahina-san's quiet voice seemed to easily break the silence that had been shrouded over all of us. I turned around, which caused those following me to stop in their tracks.

Nagato wore the same expression as always, while Koizumi had his hands in his pockets, a carefree smile pasted on his face. Behind him, I could see the red-haired time traveler, who was shivering in fear. She did have a good reason to be afraid. Not only did we not know where we were, but we didn't exactly know what would be lurking around the next corner. In the back of my mind, I was incredibly jealous of Koizumi's carefree demeanor and Nagato's lack of any emotion. If only I could muster those kind of attitudes right now...

"The path ends in 26.5 meters. We should increase our speed from here." Nagato said quietly, with all the life of a china doll. Koizumi and Asahina-san remained silent, as if they could think of nothing better to do but agree with the alien girl.

"Just try to be quieter. We don't know what we're dealing with here." I said with as much of a commanding tone as I could muster. I just hoped we could get through this with as little pain as possible. It's not like I wanted to be part of this insanity.

For the next few minutes, the dark hall we were in continued to go on almost indefinitely. There was no sign of an end to it, and our visibility didn't seem to get any better either. The situation was hopeless right now, at best.

"I think I can spot some sort of light source down there..."

Koizumi was right with his observation, and as we approached what seemed like the end of the long hall, our visibility seemed to dramatically improve. In fact, the light was almost overpowering, because as we left the darkness behind us, I actually had to cover my eyes.

This light...it's way too overpowering...

"I can't see!"

"The brightness is certainly uncomfortable..."

"Luminosity decreasing rapidly..."

"Can we just quiet down for one second? You're going to get us all killed if you're too loud!"

I believed that my biggest mistake at that moment was the fact that I was the one who was actually being too loud in the end.

"All hail the Brigade Chief!"

Damn it all!

The light had died down by now, revealing a large, drab and empty space that housed one very large person. Haruhi Suzumiya was towering about twenty feet tall over us, a victorious expression on her face as she surveyed us like we were nothing but ants. Everything, from her sailor uniform to her red Brigade Chief armband, was giant-sized along with her.

I had a bad feeling about this from the start. I should have just stayed behind and let Koizumi lead the way. At least that esper had actual means of defending himself beyond a rusty crowbar.

"It's Suzumiya-san!" Asahina-san exclaimed in what sounded like a relieved voice. Little did she know that this was nothing to be relieved about.

"To you, I am the Brigade Chief of the Universe! Bow down to me or feel my wrath!"

Haruhi was glaring at us now. I had to take control of the situation before it got out of hand.

"Wait one second...we mean no harm...can't we agree to some sort of cease fire?"

After hearing my desperate plea, Haruhi looked in thought now, rubbing her chin as she seemingly pondered over my request. I could feel myself relaxing all of a sudden. Perhaps we didn't have anything to worry about.

"Let me think about that for a second..."

I could almost immediately tell by her words that my momentary feeling of relief was about to come crashing down. This world hated me right now.

"DENIED!!!"

Haruhi's presence quickly moved closer to me after that loud exclamation of hers. My entire world then proceeded to go black underneath the gigantic shape of Haruhi Suzumiya's foot. A feeling of dread came over me as my vision turned to black in almost an instant.

It's almost funny in a macabre sort of way. I never really thought my end would come like this. The world sure was cruel.

--

I could do nothing but hit myself in the forehead at a moment like this.

I was really pissed right now. The multicolored dice in front of me, the entire game-board set up with mini-figures, the three huge rulebooks laid out on the table and the face that Haruhi was wearing right now all just seemed to help piss me off even more. I got up from my seat, as my face was feeling really hot right now. Why did I agree to be a part of this dumb game again? Oh, because Haruhi forced me to be a part of it!

"I didn't say you could quit the game, Kyon. Sit back down and keep playing." Haruhi told me with her arms crossed. If I were still a little kid, I would have just stuck my tongue out at her.

But this was not the time for such things.

Let me backtrack a little bit. To be exact, it's been about a full week since the end of Haruhi's normalcy. In that week, the SOS Brigade has done absolutely nothing of merit or actual importance... not that we ever actually have anyway. For the majority of this past week, we've sat in the clubroom in the kind of silence that was only broken once in awhile by one of Haruhi's complaints.

However, things changed a bit when Haruhi came to the clubroom a few days ago with a bag full of large books.

I had been sitting down, playing a much needed game of chess with Koizumi. As I could last recall, it had been quite awhile since I'd played any kind of board game with this esper. I guessed I'd been itching to kick his ass at something like this again, or perhaps I was trying to cling onto as much nostalgia as I possibly could.

And so, as I was a few moves away from checkmating him, Haruhi came barging into the room, with a large bag that showed the logo of Matsumoto Books on it. The last time I'd been to that store was almost a year ago. That time, Haruhi had dragged me there on our first date when she wanted to buy that book about alien astronauts. Oh what a memory that was...

"Hello, my loyal subjects! I have come bearing gifts!" Haruhi exclaimed as she picked up the bag and plopped it down hard on the other side of the table myself and Koizumi were playing on. I watched as our chess pieces trembled and threatened to fall over. Today was probably a new record in terms of Haruhi quickly getting our attention. Around the corner of my eye, I spotted something different was written on Haruhi's armband. It said "Game Master" instead of "Brigade Chief".

"You've brought gifts for us? That's a generous thing for you to do, Suzumiya-san." Koizumi said with his incredulous smile. I only sighed, because I could already feel my stomach knotting up.

"It's a gift for the entire Brigade, actually. I saw these awhile ago, but I never thought about buying any of them until now. With all that extra money from the trip last weekend, I was able to buy the complete set!"

And with those words, our Brigade Chief pulled out various books out from inside the bag, and revealed them to all of us. Asahina-san was already watching from beside me, and from this distance, I could see that Nagato's attention was changing from her novel to the new, bigger books that Haruhi had set out on the table face-up. Figures she would be interested in something like this more than anything else.

My eyes scanned the three large books in front of us. I could feel my heart sink the minute I read the front of only one of them.

_Mangaverse: Game Master's Manual_

Oh no...

"This looked like a fun game. And as a new decree by the Brigade Chief, we're all going to be playing it...starting today!"

I couldn't feel my limbs for a moment. This was all terribly wrong.

Let's forget that Haruhi and I have yet to go on that date I promised her yet. Turns out that one movie was sold out way before I even told her we would go. Chances are Haruhi was probably still a little ticked about that.

Let's forget that Christmas time is approaching. I didn't even want to be reminded about the month of December. Too many bad things happened that month, and I doubt this year's Christmas will make me forget about them.

And let's also forget about the fact that I still have been really concerned about what Asahina-san was going to tell me that one afternoon. My brain has been pestering me constantly for her answer.

Now, there was a new problem in front of us. As you might have guessed, there are definitely some games that Haruhi should never get her hands on. Day of Sagittarius IV was different. At least that game had set rules. With a role-playing game like this, Haruhi could make up whatever kind of crazy rules she wanted.

And since this was practically God we're talking about here...damn, this was just really not good.

So now you know why I was done playing this game at the moment. Well, that is actually only part of the reason.

"I don't see what the big deal is, Kyon. Don't be a sore loser." Haruhi commented as she glared at me.

Don't be a sore loser?!? It's not like you just cheated by throwing yourself in the game as an omnipotent Level Infinity God, and killed me with an unavoidable attack before I had time to do anything to save myself! And let's not forget that the esper, alien and time traveler with me did absolutely nothing to prevent my death!

Damn...I think I'll just try to calm down now. Getting all worked up over something stupid like this is only going to end up hurting me.

"Whatever. I'm going to grab something from the vending machine. Wait here till I come back...and don't let me catch you looking through my plans for the game, Kyon!" Haruhi exclaimed with authority in her voice, before leaving the room with the same strange grace as usual.

I leaned back in my chair, sighing once again. Why must I be plagued with such things on a daily basis? Haven't I been tortured enough?

"I find it amusing that you have the need to complain so much. Your life with Suzumiya-san could be much worse, Kyon-kun." Koizumi said as his eyes directed themselves away from the gameboard set up and towards me. Is he reading my mind again? I threw him a questioning look.

"And don't worry about me surveying your private thoughts. Your face is just easy to read."

He smiled like he'd won the lottery. I find it amazing that he's always able to smile like that.

"Well...you're somewhat right. At least everything is back to Haruhi's idea of normal."

My mind wandered. I thought of last week, and the confessions that had happened between myself and Haruhi, back on Mt. Fuji. We hadn't talked much about that yet. There was still a date for us to go on. This was just one of the many things on my mind. I groaned internally as I thought about it, wondering when the day would come where I wouldn't have to worry so much.

To tell the truth, I would like to think the coming year of school would be less stressful than usual. In March, Asahina-san and Tsurya-san would be graduating. This fact only really hit me a week ago, and every time I thought about it, I had this slight feeling of dread. You can easily guess that I've tried my best not to think about it.

"It could be worse." I said nonchalantly. I needed to think more positively. It was all I could do to keep my sanity on a daily basis.

The sound of a book closing caught my attention. Along with that, I heard what sounded like Asahina-san dropping her tray. It clattered on the ground, and one of the cups actually shattered on impact. The delicate pieces flew all across the clubroom floor.

"What's wrong?"

I could see Nagato staring at me as if I was some unholy idol. Asahina-san was shivering, and it looked like she had seen the ghost of Oda Nobunaga. Her voice was very weak, and she sounded as if she was on the verge of tears. She was clearly in fear.

"I-I-I-It's happening!"

Koizumi quickly stood up from his seat. I had a feeling he wasn't smiling anymore.

What was happening?

"This is exactly what the Agency has been fearing would happen." he said in a serious voice. I looked around, confused as hell.

What was happening?!?

Nagato looked at me, and her eyes seemed to bore right into my soul. The words that came out of her mouth next had the energy of unholy verses straight from the Necronomicon.

"Temporal interference."

The entire world moved after that. Or more like, I moved.

In what seemed like a passing second, my stomach churned violently, and my vision blurred as if I was being thrown at light speed. It became hard to keep my balance, as the chair I had once been sitting on disappeared from beneath me. My head spun like the Giga Drill Breaker, and before I knew it, I was falling backwards. I had only time to say Haruhi's name, before the world went gray.

--

There was only a second or two between my vision going gray and waking up.

I sat up quickly, my heart pounding fast as I did so. I looked around, and realized in an instant that my surrounding were now vastly different than they had been before.

First off, the air was not at all cold. It had been pretty cold in the clubroom this winter, as Haruhi felt the heat would be distracting to us, and that she'd turn it on when she felt the time was right. Unlike the frigid clubroom, the air out here was warm and actually pretty comfortable.

From the looks of it, I was sitting on the ground, outside in what seemed like some park. On one side, I could see trees and a long path that led into a large gate that was built into a black fence. Buildings could be seen in the distance, and they were unrecognizable to me.

Something went past my face. They were cherry blossom petals. The aroma was comforting, but as you might have guessed it was only making me more and more worried by the second.

Just a moment ago, I had been sitting in the clubroom, and it had been winter. Now, I was on the ground, and I could feel and see spring around me. Something felt very wrong.

I stood up, brushing myself off. Answers probably wouldn't come to me at this point. I would definitely have to find them myself.

And so, I began walking to the closest thing I could see. Some distance away, the telltale signs of a children's playground could be seen, ranging from tall colored slides to a large monkeybar setup. If I was lucky, I might be able to find someone around here who could tell me just what was going on. I was already starting to have an idea of why it was spring now when it had just been winter...

Stopping in front of a big sandbox, I could see no one anywhere in my vision. It was strange. The entire area was quiet in general. I had expected to at least hear the sounds of children playing or something like that.

But nothing.

I was alone, in some place that was unfamiliar. I looked up to the sky, and wondered why it wasn't gray like most closed spaces. That was one of my first impressions of this place.

Suddenly, I felt something tugging on my collar. Or more like, someone.

"Excuse me..."

A voice emanated from where I was being tugged. The best way to describe it would be that it was impossibly cute. The voice could be compared to a baby angel or something similar.

I looked down, and it was at this point where my heart almost stopped. It was from a mixture of confusion, surprise and wonder.

A girl was tugging on my arm. She was dressed in an elementary school sailor uniform, and she had long red hair that came right down to her shoulders. Her eyes looked up at me as if she was scared. The expression on her face could entrap just about any man, despite the fact that she only looked about nine years old.

The cuteness she was showing was almost too much for me. I would have been a moronic fool not to realize who this person was.

"I need to find someone, O-sama. He is supposed to be around this playground. Can you help me look for him?" she asked me, her eyes glittering with innocence.

How could I resist answering this girl? Have I ever been able to resist Asahina-san, no matter age she was? And get your head out of that unforgivable gutter, because I was certainly not thinking about this young girl in that way at all!

Nevertheless, the sudden severity of the situation began to dawn on me quickly. I held in the urge to sigh, and instead asked the girl a question of my own.

"Do you know the name of who you're looking for?"

She looked away for a moment, as if guilty of doing something wrong. Regaining her composure, Asahina-san (very small) looked back up at me with a slightly happier face, and answered with the tone of a child-like empress.

"They said he's named Kyon."

At this point, the sigh I had been holding in came right out. I felt my muscles slack.

I knew it. I should have never held onto that false hope.

Somehow, I had found myself in yet another predicament. Somehow, I had time-traveled once again, but without Asahina-san's assistance. Now, Asahina-san (very small) sounded like she had been entrusted to find me.

But that's not why I am aggravated inside. There are other reasons Why am I here? What the hell is the point to all this?

I was just so annoyed right now. I thought these kind of things would be over by now. I thought that I'd get a break from apocalyptic situations and reality-changing events involving Haruhi Suzumiya. I thought that maybe I'd be lucky enough to have a relatively carefree time for the last year and a half I had left of high school.

But when I looked down at Asahina-san (very small), and actually got absorbed by the innocence in her eyes, I realized that my wish had gone up in smoke.

Thinking back on all this, I probably should of realized that all my troubles with Haruhi had only begun...

* * *

**I'd like to note something for those who feel I have jumped into the story too fast. If you're wondering, it's been done on purpose. Questions you have will be answered, so don't think that I'm shoving stuff under the rug. There are just certain things that happen first and foremost in this story. Nevertheless, the next chapter will come soon. :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**It's been awhile, hasn't it?**

**Hello, my readers. I apologize for this immense wait that you all had to go through to see the next chapter of The Infinity of Haruhi Suzumiya. I had taken a hiatus from writing anything Haruhi-related for a few months, but it's safe to say that I am now officially back in the ring. I recently saw the amazing movie that was The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, and that was able to give me more than enough inspiration to help me start writing this story again.**

**I feel like it's been ages since I tackled writing about these characters, and just these characters. Nevertheless, you probably don't want to hear my blabbing. Enjoy! **

**

* * *

**

Sorry, can't help you. I don't know anyone with such a ridiculous name as "Kyon".

Maybe I should have said that. Maybe it would have been a good idea at the time. Maybe it would have saved me quite a bit of trouble.

Maybe. Or maybe not.

"Please...O-sama...do you know where I can find him? I just want to go home..." Asahina-san (chibi) whispered to me in a sweet but sad voice. Her eyes were honest to her feelings, and it was becoming increasingly obvious that she was on the verge of crying.

I looked down at this innocent little girl, contemplating again to myself if I should really tell her that I was exactly who she was looking for. A Question arose in my head. Why was she sent to find me? My stomach rumbled in suspicion as I began to think that Asahina-san's allies in the future probably had something to do with all this...

I sighed. Did I have any other choice right now? And could I really bear the sight of this little girl about to bawl her eyes out in tears? No...I couldn't. I cursed myself for being so easily swayed by cute things, before I gave her the answer she wanted.

"That guy you're looking for...he's me."

Her expression seemed to slowly light up at the sound of my statement. A tiny smile formed on Asahina-san's (chibi) face. It wasn't long before I could feel her hugging me tight, leaving me blushing bright red at the awkwardness of the situation.

"Really? I'm so happy I found you! Now I can tell you that stuff and go home!" she exclaimed in happiness, while still clinging to me like some sort of cute parasite.

Tell me stuff? Is that why she wanted to find me so badly? What exactly was she about to tell me? I could feel myself becoming more and more interested by the second. My brain fizzed with curiosity like a can of soda that had been violently shaken and opened.

"...you were sent to tell me stuff? Who sent you?" I asked, but the little girl's expression changed to a very unsure one. She responded in a much quieter voice than before.

"Um...I can't really talk too much about that...they said...it's...secret...stuff..."

My hear thumped violently in my chest. I struggled to look away at just how cute this bite-sized version of Asahina-san was. Goddammit! Do these time travelers know all my weaknesses!

"Secret stuff...well, it sounds interesting enough to me. I'll hear what you have to say."

Asahina-san's (chibi) face lit up again in happiness. She hugged me as if she was a lost bear cub that had found its mother.

"Oh, thank you, Kyon-san! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

–

This felt very strange. I was sitting on a bench now, next to the eight-year old version of a girl I knew in a distant future, and that's saying if this was even the past. Frankly, I had no idea just what the date was, and I had no idea just how I had gotten here in the first place.

However, this was all oddly familiar. The surrounding ambiance, the cherry blossoms, and even the bench we were sitting on definitely made me think that something like this had happened before. Or maybe, if this was really a part of the past, it was supposed to remind me of something that would happen.

"So...this is really going to sound like a story to you...but it's all true, Kyon-san..." Asahina-san (chibi) told me in her cute voice. Call me crazy, but I kept having this fear that someone would accuse me of being a lolicon if they saw me sitting next to her like this with no one else around. I shook off my paranoid fear, and attempted to sound as interested as possible.

"Well, I don't have much to do right now. Let's hear the story." I lied. I did have something to do before I got zapped here out of nowhere.

However, this probably beats playing that infernal game with Haruhi any day. And speaking of that infamous goddess...

...I really need to just get back to being her boyfriend again. At least I had more control then.

"Okay then, Kyon-san. These grown-ups, the ones who said I had to find you, told me that it all has to do with a person they call 'Suzumiya-san'. They said she's really, really important."

I chuckled to myself at the sound of Asahina-san's (chibi) statement. By this point, I was so used to hearing how important Haruhi was that hearing it again was like hearing a funny joke. The truth of the matter was that Haruhi was rarely funny, but I still couldn't help but laugh at this little girl's statement. Maybe I was crazy for doing so.

"Really important, huh? Do you know why?" I asked in a fake curious voice, even though I was getting the feeling that this little version of Asahina-san didn't know as much as I thought she would.

"Well...they told me that she's going to do something bad...when I get older. The grown-ups said it would be really bad, and that they need someone to fix it. Suzumiya-san is going to make a lot of people sad...and they said the only one who can fix it is you, Kyon-san."

I could feel myself leaning back already. How the hell could I have seen this coming?

Even though I had just heard it, the statement was already replaying in my head...

_Suzumiya-san is going to make a lot of people sad...and they said the only one who can fix it is you, Kyon-san..._

I should be asking myself...why me? It's a useless question at this point, however. I know why this was all pinpointed to me. Haruhi had apparently chosen me, out of all the normal and boring guys in the world. Well...maybe I'd have to be a little more than just your average boring and normal guy to actually stay sane through all this madness. I should give myself a little more credit at this point.

But none of that matters right now. I'd rather hear about Haruhi anyway...

I sighed before answering Asahina-san (chibi).

"They need me to fix it, huh? I know this might be a little much for you to answer...but how do they expect me to fix something that hasn't even happened yet?"

The little girl next to me seemed to turn away all of a sudden, and I could see her almost shivering in confusion. I peered over as I watched her stare at the ground and refuse to face me. She was beginning to look like she was scared.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, but Asahina-san (chibi) seemed to move away from me a little. She just increased the distance between us on this large bench before answering me in a quiet, sad voice.

"I-I-I'm sorry, Kyon-san. I can't tell you. It's secret stuff...and if I told you...they said...they said I wouldn't be able to go home..."

I could literally feel the fear and sadness in Asahina-san's (chibi) voice, and laugh if you want, but it felt like my heart was being wrenched inside out. I could spot a couple of teardrops splattered against the ground, and it really seemed that she was genuinely crying. For a child her age, I could only guess that she wouldn't be able to fake something like this, right? She wouldn't be so devious, right? No...this girl looked way to innocent to me.

Or maybe that's what these time travelers want me to think? I mean, Koizumi tells me that Asahina-san (small) might have an ulterior motive of some sort...but who would trust Koizumi in the first place? I know I don't...at least not that much.

"Kyon-san? Is something wrong? I'm sorry for crying like a baby..." Asahina-san (chibi) asked me, breaking my train of thought.

"It's nothing." I said in another lie. What was I supposed to tell her? From the looks of it, I was beginning to think this version of Asahina-san was sent here against her will. Those time-travelers must have been pretty desperate if their only option was this Asahina-san...

"The grown-ups told me that Suzumiya-san is someone important to you, Kyon-san? Is she your friend? I'm always sad when my friends do bad things..."

I glanced at Asahina-san (chibi) and attempted to give her a genuine smile.

"I guess you could call her my friend. My...really good friend." I said in more of a half-lie. To be honest, I didn't really feel like explaining how I loved Haruhi to this little girl right now.

"So I'm guessing you can't really tell me much more about what...Suzumiya-san..is going to do, can you?"

The look on Asahina-san's (chibi) face was already telling me tiny girl shook her head slowly. The sadness on her face was obvious.

I sighed. At this point, I had guessed there was little that I could do to better my current situation.

"Well...this is where I say goodbye, Kyon-san. I hope you figure things out..." Asahina-san (chibi) said to me, making me wonder what exactly she meant.

Before I could give her an answer, however, my vision suddenly became distorted, and the world rocked violently before me. Everything in front of my eyes shifted into the form of a whirlpool, and only a split-second passed before I could feel everything blacken out. I scarcely remembered a child-like whimper before I lost consciousness once again.

–

"There he is...and with perfect timing as well. It seems Suzumiya-san will remain blissfully unaware as always..."

"Temporal interference has ceased. The subject has returned to his place of origin free from data anomalies."

"I wish I could remember what I had told him..."

Whenever I blacked out like this, it seemed like it was all too easy to pick out voices around me whenever I began to come to. Or maybe this was just because Nagato, Koizumi and Asahina-san's methods of speaking were ingrained in my brain by now.

I opened my eyes to the sight of the door to the clubroom opening, and I found myself looking up from the floor at Haruhi, who was just coming back into the room. I was laying on my belly, and it was obvious that Haruhi was confused as to why I was doing this, judging by the look on her face.

"What did I miss? Why are you on the floor like that, Kyon?"

I got myself up quickly and brushed a tiny bit of dust off my shoulder.

"It's nothing. I tripped over something on the ground."

To my annoyance, I could see Haruhi's eyes scanning around my feet. Her one hand was almost choking the bag of chips she had gotten from the vending machine just before.

"What did you trip over? I don't see anything on the ground..." Haruhi asked me with suspicion in her voice, and I unfortunately had trouble thinking up what to say next. Luckily, that esper managed to pipe in just in time.

"I already took care of it. Kyon-kun just slipped on a stray chess piece. I'll put it back now." he interjected, somehow producing a white knight for Haruhi to see and believe. Our Brigade Chief gave a dissatisfied look before turning away from me. I wondered how Koizumi did what he just did, but I sighed in relief nonetheless.

As I took a seat, something finally clicked in my head.

The events of only minutes ago rushed into my brain. I had traveled through time. I needed answers, and judging from what these three abnormals had said to me before I warped, they must know something. I knew at a time like this that any sort of information from Koizumi, Nagato or Asahina-san would no doubt help me in some way.

Before I could even think of what to ask and when, however, someone interrupted my train of thought with her usual loud and commanding voice.

"Alright! I say that today's meeting is over! I'm getting bored of that game anyway..."

"Are you sure, Suzumiya-san?" Koizumi asked in his usual carefree tone. As I expected, our Brigade Chief just sounded unfazed to his question.

"I'm sure, Koizumi-kun. You can all leave if you want."

Haruhi's words seemed activate Spiral Power in my legs. I began to put my jacket on, knowing the cold outside would affect me otherwise. Thoughts of going home and relaxing in my bed all felt like a godsend. Sure...I might not get to know any clues relating to another possible apocalypse today, but at least I could go home early. That was something good, right?

"Wait! You have to wait for me! I have some important stuff to tell you, Kyon." Haruhi yelled at me, causing me to drop my bag down in an instant.

I looked down on the ground, and cursed myself for not expecting something like this. Nevertheless, I had been waiting for a moment where me and Haruhi could be alone. For once, she was right about important stuff...

–

This had not been the first time where I had felt like a walk with Haruhi was something awkward.

Today was a cold and frigid day, and I could only dig my hands so deep into my pockets. The air felt like it had a pair of frost-encrusted teeth that bit at your fingers whenever they left the safety of your jacket pockets. It certainly wasn't the greatest feeling.

Now while I was freezing up on one side of the sidewalk, Haruhi seemed to be fine and unaffected by the cold. Her jacket, while smaller than mine, seemed to be keeping her warm. Haruhi's face looked like it was kind of deep in thought however, and I could only guess just what she was thinking about. Maybe she was just ignoring the cold through contemplation about visitors from another dimension...

I should have expected something like this. Haruhi had requested I walk home with her. She apparently had important "stuff" to tell me, but the fact was that she hadn't said a word since we started on our walk from North High. My mind was mainly wrapped around two things, and those were fixing things with Haruhi and getting answers from Koizumi, Nagato or Asahina-san later tonight.

If it hadn't been for Haruhi, I would probably have my answers already...

But fixing things with my Brigade Chief...that was what was on my mind right now. I still loved her for a reason. For all my complaining, I do actually miss our time as a couple...and I'd like to get it back now.

Our walk continued in silence until we reached Haruhi's house. For a couple of seconds, the both of us stopped on the sidewalk and Haruhi proceeded to look away from me. There was a look of uncertainty on her face that I can't recall ever seeing before. When she broke the silence, she spoke in a tone that sounded just a little unlike her.

"I wanted to tell you something, Kyon. It's something...I didn't think I'd ever have to say."

I dug my hands deeper in my jacket pockets, but listened nonetheless.

"What is it?"

I could feel a warm presence hug me slowly. A full head of chestnut brown hair tickled my nose. Haruhi's voice became soft all of a sudden, much to my surprise.

"I'm sorry for everything I did on the trip...and before. I...I don't know what I was thinking. I feel stupid about all of it."

If Haruhi wasn't hugging me right now, I might have let my jaw drop.

As you might have guessed, this was the kind of situation I rarely expect to happen. Haruhi never really does this kind of stuff. I didn't expect an apology from her...well, at least not one like this. She's always more forward than anything else. In fact, if I ever expect an apology from her, I expect her to be grabbing me by the collar and saying...

"I'm sorry! Did you hear? I'm sorry for being dumb!"

But that wasn't the case this time. I guess Haruhi does learn from her mistakes, contrary to popular belief.

In my mind, I wondered what I should say. I wondered if I should make it a point that my depression for those weeks was almost completely her fault. I could easily put even more weight on Haruhi right now, and who says I would even feel bad about it? She was the one who made me so miserable in the first place...

But as I felt myself slowly hugging Haruhi back, I knew that I couldn't say something like that. I loved her for a reason, right? I would have to be an idiot if I really thought I could just agree with her being stupid.

I resisted the urge to sigh as I answered Haruhi in the most understanding tone I could muster.

"It's all fine. I'm not worried about the past anyway. That's long gone."

That was a bit of a lie. The past never seemed to go away these days, at least for me.

Haruhi's face, which had been buried in my chest, proceeded to look up at me with those big amber eyes. I see her smiling just a little bit. It's strange. All this was making me feel very warm inside...

"Well...at least you know now that the Brigade Chief can apologize when necessary. But don't take me for soft! I'm still your leader for a reason!" Haruhi said to me, her voice rising at the end of her statement. Haruhi was good at changing her mood when necessary. I couldn't help but admire that in a way.

"Oh! I just remembered! You still owe me that date!"

"Oh really? It's not my fault the movie was sold out..."

"Well...it's your fault you didn't find an alternative! Responsibility to your Chief comes first, before anything else! So I'm telling you that we better go somewhere this weekend, or they'll be a penalty waiting for you on Monday!"

I let out a light chuckle, which seemed to make Haruhi pout. She stopped hugging me and proceeded to cross her arms.

"Hey! It's not a joke! I'm being serious!"

"I know, I know. I'm just messing with you."

Haruhi smiled again. Something about the way she smiles...it was unique in a way.

"Well...you're lucky that you are still getting this..." she said, before she quickly leaned in and gave me a sweet peck on the cheek. For a brief moment, I could feel my heart skip a beat. When Haruhi was back to looking up at me, I could see that she had a devious expression on her face.

"Remember what'll happen if you don't take me on that date! I'll see you tomorrow, Kyon." Haruhi concluded with, before I watched her turn tail and head for her front door. I watched her close it behind her as she went inside her house, and then I was left standing there, wondering.

I didn't know why, but I couldn't help but put a hand on the cheek Haruhi had just kissed. The spot still felt kind of warm...

As I stood there and watched Haruhi's house like this, I thought about just how much I had missed this kind of thing. I thought to myself and wondered if I could keep things together with Haruhi for an extended period of time. I guessed this was my second chance. I should try my best not to blow it.

It seemed obvious that my thoughts were drifting away from anything that had to do with the temporal problems my Brigade Chief was still causing. I didn't realize it then, but I wish I had known how much I would regret forgetting about it later...

* * *

**Just a note for you all. I got finals soon, so if I don't update quickly, don't think I went on hiatus again. I just have school to take care of first. Either way, I hope you enjoyed this chapter that's been long over due.**


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